I’ve always loved being in the mountains, but nothing prepared me for the moment I stood at the top of the Vallée Blanche in Chamonix, part of the French Mont Blanc massif.
For those who know the mountains, skiing isn’t just a sport. It’s an invitation into a world most people never reach, where crisp air fills your lungs, peaks stretch endlessly into the sky, and silence falls heavier than snow.
The first time I skied the Vallée Blanche (AKA the White Valley), I genuinely lost my breath – and it wasn’t just the altitude. Standing at the top of the Aiguille du Midi, nearly 4,000 metres up, the Alps stretched out in every direction. Aiguille du Dru, Dent du Géant, Grand Capucin and Grandes Jorasses – these dramatic granite spires loomed above the valley. Jagged peaks broke through the clouds, and below, a ribboned seam of untouched snow wound its way through icefalls and crevasses, waiting to be carved.
Going up: the Aiguille du Midi cable car. Going down: descending the valley on fresh powder. Photographs: Alamy; Dougal Tavener
Skiing the Vallée Blanche is a must for intermediate and advanced skiers; an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime, high mountain experience, and probably one of the best-known ski areas in Chamonix.
My encounter started on the valley floor at the cable car station where I met up with my friend and professional mountain guide, Dougal Tavener, a Welshman living in Chamonix, who has more international mountain experience than most locals and has climbed Mont Blanc more than 100 times.
‘Stepping out of the cable car, the scenery was beyond epic.’ Photograph: Ignacio Palacios/Getty Images
“As a mountain guide in Chamonix, the Vallée Blanche is one of the most spectacular trips I can offer my clients. The Aiguille du Midi cable car is the only lift in the world that gives such direct access to mountains as extreme as these, carrying you from town to 3,842 metres in just minutes,” says Dougal. “The only other place I’ve seen landscapes like this is Patagonia, but there, you’d need days of expedition to reach them. On skis, it’s pure magic with fresh powder and breathtaking scenery.”
The route is not patrolled, so skiing with a guide is a good idea. They can also arrange lift passes and provide harnesses, crampons, ropes and other safety gear required to ski the valley. Accessed by a cable car from Chamonix, the route starts from the aforementioned Aiguille du Midi, which shoulders Mont Blanc. Heading up the mountain, there was some anticipation, and a few nerves.
Stepping out of the cable car, the scenery was beyond epic. I felt like I was on another planet. Below me stretched a vertical drop; all off-piste untouched snow, tumbling glaciers, sheer, silent beauty and a vast white world I could never have reached any other way.
The view back towards Chamonix (top); the descent starts with a steep walk down an exposed ridge. Photographs: Lisa Young; Dougal Tave
I paused there for a long time, just taking it in. It felt like the roof of the world. I could see Mont Blanc looming in the distance, its summit glowing in the morning light. It was beautiful in a way that photos can’t quite capture: cold, vast and strangely peaceful.
We started with a steep, challenging walk down a narrow and exposed ridge to the snow. Edging your way down this knife-edge of steps cut out of ice can feel intimidating, while holding a rope for support in one hand and your skis in the other. Dropping skis at this point would be ill-advised and some even attach their skis to their backpacks.
With the high altitude, the air was understandably thinner, and I remember every sound seemed muffled, except for the sound of the crunching snow under my boots as I edged towards the ridge. I still remember the way my stomach dropped, a mix of nerves and awe, before we began the descent into the valley, trying to avoid plummeting into bottomless crevices.
Led by Dougal, we skied down the spectacular route, with Mont Blanc looming large overhead. At more than 12 miles long (almost 15 miles to Chamonix if there’s enough snow), it is one of the world’s longest off-piste ski routes and boasts a vertical descent of 2,800 metres.
The descent drops through Alpine wilderness, with just black ravens for company. Photograph: Lisa Young
Then came the descent through pure Alpine wilderness, with no trees, no lifts or people, just the sound of skis slicing through the silence and the occasional swooping black raven. Care was taken, as there are unexpected and potentially dangerous crevasses, as well as delicate snow bridges throughout the valley. At times we had to ski one at a time, so as not to put too much pressure on the fragile snow as we crossed the glacier with its huge and piercing blue blocks of ancient ice.
Sunrise on the summit: ‘Views that stay with you forever.’ Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto
There were no lift queues or piste markers, just raw, wild terrain and a sense of freedom I’d never felt before. It wasn’t just skiing, it was something far deeper, almost spiritual. The whole excursion took a day, with a relaxing lunch-stop in a rustic mountain cafe. It must be one of the most spectacular and stunningly beautiful routes in the world – and I had the pleasure of experiencing it because of my skiing experience.
Snowsports unlock places and perspectives you can’t find any other way. Each run is a journey, each chairlift a gateway not just to epic views, but to something rarer: real stillness and pure adrenaline. Once skiing and snowboarding are mastered, you can really broaden your horizons with a whole world of snow experiences.
For me, another example of that was skijoring. Somewhere in the French plains of La Clusaz I found myself gripping a tow rope, skis strapped on, with a horse charging ahead of me at full speed. It was exhilarating – and brilliant in a completely unexpected way. I laughed the whole time, trying to keep my balance while being pulled across a frozen landscape by sheer horsepower.
Skiing Vallée Blanche and skijoring weren’t just activities. They were experiences of the kind that shake you out of the everyday and remind you how vast and versatile the world of snowsports is.
Plus the views – views that stay with you forever; the sunrise on the summit, a hidden valley bathed in gold, the rush of carving fresh tracks where no one’s been.
If you’re lucky enough to chase snow, don’t just stick to the pistes. There’s an entire world out there, and skiing is the key that unlocks it.
